Darkness Past
by BDWood
Summary: Three groups of friends and family wage war against the forces of Darkness, they protect each other, comfort each other, and laugh to stay sane. Some turn to love, others to friends, and others to family. Rated M for violence, gore, language, and sexual themes.
1. Rhino

"Hey guys!" I dreaded hearing those words escape from Loki's mouth, the things that followed were always terrible. I had to fight off Excalibur, or Vauban had to explain to Frost and Ember why Banshee and the girls were beating Loki to a pulp. His antics caused no end of grief, but he was a funny guy, and just like Vauban he was my friend.

"What now Loki?" Vauban asked, looking at me in what I guessed was exasperation.

"Damn it Loki!" I said.

"Look." He held up frilly lace undergarments. A deafening silence fell over the three of us, I glanced back at Vauban, he seemed to be wondering the same thing.

"Who's…" He trailed off, there was a commotion coming from the other side of the hall, the girl's barracks.

"Mesa." He said quietly.  
"Are you kidding me?" I asked, genuinely surprised at Loki's newest choice of victim. His pranks were going to get him, and by extension, me put into the Med-bay. Mesa did not take kindly to Loki's jokes, and always, one upped his ass.

"Yep, but this time I made sure they couldn't trace it back to me." There was a bang at the entrance to our barracks.

"Rhino! Vauban! I know you're in there! Where is Loki!?" It was Mesa. I looked at Vauban and then back to Loki in dread.

"Help?" Loki whispered.

"What? What am I supposed to do?" I whispered furiously, I looked to Vauban, "You got this?"

"Fine…" He said with a gulp. The banging at the door was getting louder, angrier. He walked to the door and shooed Loki into his room. He opened the door wide enough that I could see Mesa, her head moved to look over V's shoulder, her head swiveled and scanned the room. "What can I do for you on this fine day miss Mesa?" Vauban's voice came out much as it normally did when he went into Negotiator mode.

"Where is that little rat?!" Her voice was sharp as a knife and pierced through the silence in the barracks.

"Who might you be refering to?" He asked more polite, he got polite when he got scared.

"Loki! That bastard stole my favorite panties!" I gulped, V's back stiffened.

"I don't know, I haven't seen him since we ran the Course at 0700." Vauban's voice was audibly trembling.

"Liar!" She pushed past him and walked towards me. "Where is he!?" She said kicking me in the chest as I stood up, knocking me against the wall. She left her foot on my chest and held me there.

"You could always ask nicely, dove," I said, my stubborn streak getting the best of me. If Mesa could see through my thin veil of bravado, she didn't show it. She dropped her foot to the ground, stepped in close, and stroked my helm, her hands looking more fragile than normal when placed against my enormous chest and face plates.

Her voice slipped into a velvety tone, "Why not just tell me?" She asked, "Please?"

"Uhh… haven't seen him. I promise." She kneed me in the groin, I dropped to my knees in pain. Her hand ran up my chest and pulled at my chin, causing me to look her in the face.

"Still haven't seen him?" She asked cooly.

"Fuck you." I groaned. She backhanded me, drawing a loud snapping noise as her knuckles hit my helmet. I rolled with her hand, lessening the impact, probably saving her knuckles from breaking. But from what I could tell, it still hurt her. She turned away from me grasping her hand in the other one. _Time to make my move. _I dropped my right hand to the floor in front of me, and flipped my legs straight out, sweeping her feet out from under her. I rolled forward and kneeled on her chest.

"Get off!" She commanded. I nodded once, before stepping back. I heard a door open behind me.

Loki's voice rang out in the silence. "Mesa? What are you doing in here?" He asked mischievously.

"You know DAMN well what I'm doing in here you prick!" Her voice becoming more and more shrill by the second. "Where are my panties!?" My ears began to ring.

"What? Me? I don't know what you're talking about." I could hear the laughter in his voice, and obviously so could Mesa, whereas I saw the humor in the situation, Mesa's anger only intensified. Vauban walked quietly over to my side.

"Let's leave these two to it?" he whispered to me as Mesa sprung at Loki.

"Sure." I replied and we walked from the room, Loki's grunts of pain, falling quiet as the door to the barracks closed behind us.

"Don't go in there," I held my hand out in front of Hydroid's chest.

"What? Why?"

"Mesa's in there beating the hell outta Loki." Vauban replied. There was a crash from inside the barracks, Hydroid spun on his heels and walked away.

"I need a bite anyway. You guys want something?"

"Sure, we can tag along."

Loki walked into the mess hall, his helmet was off, and his face was bruised, and his nose had gauze in both nostrils to soak up the blood. Frost walked in behind him and patted him on the back, Loki flinched in pain, turning to look at Frost, who jumped in surprise. "Fuck!" he exclaimed, "What happened to your face?!"

"Mesa…." Loki's voice was rough, like he'd been jabbed in the throat. Being that Mesa was the assailant that was more than plausible.

"Whatever…" Frost replied in exhaustion, rubbing his eyes with a forefinger and thumb. Loki spotted us and walked over.

"Guys where was my back up?" he asked, sounding genuinely confused as to where we'd gone.

I pointed to my scarred face, "I got most of these pulling one of you out of one shitty situation or another, against all different kinds of foes, Grineer, Corpus, Infested or those Orokin Void bastards, but none of those situations with those bastards were scarier than Mesa. I'm happy to pull your ass out of the fire, but when you start the inferno… well you deserve that." I laughed when Loki glared at me.

"Well what happened to your smooth talking V?" I turned to look at Vauban, who snorted, and shook his head.

"Mesa wasn't having it this time," He said smoothly.

"Yeah well… Oh Hey guys, look it's Nova!" Vauban's back went rigid, and he spun around looking everywhere for Nova, the only person who seemed to render his suave, and collected persona completely useless. His eyes searched frantically for any sight of the woman he loved.

"Where?!" He said finally.

"I don't know where she is V. I'm not her keeper." I snorted with laughter. "Don't be so amused Rhino, Banshee just walked in." Loki finished.

"Yeah, I'm not falling for that one Loki," I said, confidant in my ability to see through his lies, "Banshee is not-"

"What about me?" came a feminine voice from behind me, I stood up and the table slid violently into Loki, who groaned and slumped over it.

"My spleen!"

"Nothing Banshee," I said, turning to face her.

"How's the food today? Still terrible?" She joked, her hand on one slender hip, her blue eyes sparkling.

"You ass-" I kicked the table into Loki again. He let out an 'hurk' and his head hit the table.

He stopped moving.

"Yeah," I let out a nervous chuckle, "I-" Banshee looked past me to Vauban who was in the process of resuscitating Loki.

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine, you know Loki, always the joker," I scratched the back of my head nervously.

"Well it was nice talking to you Rhino, I'm gonna go catch up with Mesa," I flinched at the name.

"Yeah, nice talking to you," she walked off, her hips swaying back and forth, catching my attention more than I'd ever admit. She gave a look over her shoulder at me and caught me looking. I blushed and she winked at me. _Holy Shit! I need a cold shower! _

"Rhino! Dude! Vauban to Rhino!" His hand was waving in front of my face, I was still staring because Banshee seemed to sway her hips more after she'd caught me.

"Huh?"

"Guys, why is Banshee walking like that?" I glanced at Loki, he was barely conscious.

"You're watching Banshee's ass like a hawk," Vauban said.

"Shut up asshole," I said quietly, my voice promising pain. I sat back down at the table and pulled it back towards it's original spot. I let my mind drift, Banshee occupying most of my thoughts for the rest of the meal. _I'm gonna need one hell of a long shower. _


	2. Nekros

Nekros is my name and Death is my game, but I also like poetry. Especially the ones concerning my sweet, sweet Nyx. I write it for her, but she can never know, especially since my brothers Oberon and Limbo would never let me hear the end of it. Not that they could read what I wrote, I have the solar system's most intensely small, neat handwriting, BUT the book in which I write is one of those old pocket notebooks. It is filled to the brim, margins and all, I really need a new one. But I was supposed to be the hard-assed, controller of death, not the soft hearted, love-struck poet.

I looked back into the rear of our Liset. Limbo stood right at the bottom of the ramp, his head cocked, gazing deeply into the eyes of Oberon's Kubrow 'Puck'.

"Are you real?" he asked the kubrow, his voice sounded like that of the ancient British civilization on Earth. The kubrow's ears perked up and he cocked his head, then gave a small whine. "I can't feel you." Limbo said quietly, sweeping one hand through kubrow. When I say through the kubrow, I mean he literally swept his hand through the kubrow. It seemed to dislike that greatly, giving out a low growl, and baring it's teeth.

"LIMBO! What have I told you about rift walking through the Puck!?" my older brother yelled to the younger one. Yes. This is a recurring issue.

"The creature isn't real!" Limbo yelled back.. I rolled my eyes and watched as Oberon threw his mace at Limbo, who just shifted planes and allowed the mace to slam into the armory.

"Stop messing with Puck!" He yelled, my brother was, in my opinion too attached to the flea ridden mutt, but I'd never tell him that.

"Ouch!" Limbo cried, it seemed like luck was no longer on his side, Puck had his teeth clamped around Limbo's hand. "Okay, you infernal beast, I concede, you are real!" Limbo attempted to talk Puck into letting his hand go, instead of using his powers to just rift walk out of the beast's mouth.

"Limbo! Just rift walk out," I groaned.

"Oberon said not to!"

"Oh, for fuck sake!" I cried, walking back to help him out. I swatted the kubrow on the nose, to which it promptly released Limbo's hand, and licked mine. _Stupid mutt. _I grabbed Limbo by the shoulders and pushed him into the cockpit. "Sit!" I commanded. He did. Neither of them liked to piss me off. "You! Don't mess with Puck! And you!" I turned to Oberon, "Don't fucking throw your weapons!" My finger was just inches from Oberon's face. I pushed him back to the nav computer to guide the ship and I sat next to Limbo and rested my head against the wall. Promptly falling to sleep.

"Nekros?" Limbo's voice pulled me from my light slumber.

"Yes Limbo?" I answered my eyes still shut.

"Why do you dream of N-" I slammed him against the wall by his throat.

"Shut up." I said. He seemed to get the hint, and he quieted.

"I just wanna know…" Limbo was quiet and innocent, despite his experience killing.

"I love her little brother." I answered his question as loud as I dared, which honestly, wasn't that loud.

"Love? What is that?" He asked, his voice quiet. His mind roaming to the possibilities of something new, quantifiable.

"I know what you're thinking Limbo, but love can't be explained, or quantified. Its like…" I trailed off. "Like one of those sun rises you love so much. The ones on Earth. How the morning heat warms your body, the light glints off of the streams and the dew in the grass. While you see the beauty and greatness in that, I see it in her. In the way her mouth pouts when she's sad, the way the sunlight makes her hair shine when the dojo is turned just perfectly, how her eyes show every emotion in it's entirety."

Limbo looked puzzled, even though I couldn't see his face. "Nekros?" He said again.

"Yeah?"

"Is that really what it's like? It's real?"

"Yeah. Yeah it's real buddy." I put my arm around his shoulder.

"It sounds great. Shes a lucky lady." He said, using one of his rare moments of mental togetherness.

I grimaced when the metal pieces that had been sunk into my legs and chest retracted then I stepped out of my warframe. I walked into the shower, the heated water soothing my aching muscles, and washing the blood from the open puncture wounds down the drain. I stood under the water for a while, letting my mind blank. Looking down I noticed the piece of metal in my right bicep. _Fuck._

I yanked it out and threw it into a small bowl on my right. _Oberon's fault. _I thought, my teeth clenching, not from pain, pain and I were old friends, but from anger. My brother had a massive noble streak and never backed down from a fight. Never. It was one of the reasons I was alive, but also one of the reasons that my scars no longer numbered in the teens.

_Why? Why do we fight? _To keep ourselves free, and alive. _Why do I fight? What is MY purpose? _These were things that always weaseled their way into my thoughts during extended periods of alone time. Them and the memories. Not my own but those of the long dead. _Kissing my wife, shutting the door and getting in my car to head to work. _It wasn't mine, and it damn sure wasn't recent, but I smiled nonetheless. _Why do I have these memories? _Another good question.

I turned off the water and stepped from the steam filled shower, reaching to grab a towel from my right. I closed my fingers around it and wrapped it around my waist. I looked to the door, wiping the water from my eyes. I stopped, silent. A grineer lancer stood in the doorway, looking at me, malice in his eyes. He raised his rifle and I sprinted toward him, my shoulder dropped, catching him in the stomach and knocking him to the ground.

I landed on top of him and threw my fist down at his face, he knocked my hand aside and kicked me off of him. I rolled to my feet, towel still wrapped around my waist, I ran forward kicking out my foot impacting with something soft, fleshy, and the Grineer fell to the ground. I jumped on top of him and raised my fist.

Nyx was underneath me, her eyes were defiant, and her muscles were tensed to fight me. I jumped back, and turned away from her.

"I'm sorry…" I said, my voice coming out rougher than normal.

"Nekros? Why did-"

"I thought you were someone else." I felt her hand touch my shoulder. Her bare hand. I glanced back at her. She was in much the same get up as I was, her towel wrapped around her chest, and her hair hanging down, drenched. Her deep green eyes piercing right through to my...well I'd say to my soul, but I didn't believe in that sort of thing, especially not for myself.

"Who?" She asked her voice betraying her thoughts. She knew who it was. When I didn't say anything she persisted. "Who Nekros?!" Her voice was shaking.

"The Grineer." I replied cooly. Her hand pulled me closer, and she wrapped her arms around my torso, resting her chin on my shoulder. She breathed in a long shaky breath.

"I see them too…" She whispered, her breath cooling the droplets running down my neck. "They wake me up at night, they appear out of no where and they… I'm always fighting Nekros… Always."

I gulped, my eyes clamped shut, my teeth clenching. I knew her plight, I shared it. My hands began to hurt and I looked down, my fingernails were drawing blood in my own hands. I looked at Nyx's face, resting on my right shoulder. Her eyes were closed, and her mouth turned into a slight frown. Her jet black hair was still dripping and we had probably made a nice large puddle under our feet. I twisted to look at her directly and wondered if this was real.

Her eyes met mine one last time before she turned and left. I held my hand out to her, but didn't say anything. The door closed behind her and I dropped my gaze to the floor. _Why am I so stupid? _I wondered, wrenching the door open. It slammed behind me and I dried off. I turned and stepped into my frame. It closed up around me and the metal, slid into my skin, sinking deep, in the same place it always did. It was comforting, in a very real way.

While those spikes were in my flesh, I was safe. The warframe kept me safe. From Grineer, from Corpus, and from myself. I pulled the helmet on and started for the door.

As I entered the mess hall there was a loud metallic sliding sound as Rhino stood up and the table slid.

"My spleen!" came Loki's voice from the very same table. I shook my head and walked toward my brothers. Both were sitting and eating, quiet and somehow loud. Death surrounded them, as it surrounded all of us. But it was always worse after a mission. The smell of the blood, the souls lost to our blades, and our guns, they lingered. Not for most, but I could feel it, deep in my bones when I passed them. It lingered on me and my brothers.

I sat and looked to Limbo, whose eyes, like normal, were glazed over. He was calculating anything and everything that he could, it was how he remained silent. It was how he stopped his mind from wondering about the realities he was part of.

Oberon just drank deeply from his cup. He ate, he reveled in his food, the tastes of the food, even though ours was the worst slop in the solar system. He enjoyed the blandness, the boredom, it allowed him to be neutral, his mind to go blank. We all have our scars.

_Death IS my domain..._


End file.
